I’ve noticed something interesting lately.
Many of our new clients are referrals from current ones — and we’re able to close them twice as fast as cold leads! ![]()
That got me thinking about Stephen M.R. Covey’s concept of the 𝑺𝒑𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝑻𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕.
He said trust isn’t just a soft skill — it’s an economic driver.
It directly affects two things: 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭.
And I’ve seen that play out in real life.
𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐰:
Everything takes longer. More meetings. More doubts. More layers of approval. Costs go up.
𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡:
Things move quickly. Less friction. Fewer questions. Costs go down.
Covey even captures it in a formula:
(𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒚 × 𝑬𝒙𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏) × 𝑻𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕 = 𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒔
Low-trust environments pay a “trust tax.”
High-trust environments enjoy a “trust dividend.”
You can have the best plan and team…
But without trust, everything slows down.
𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬 — in sales, in teams, and in leadership.
How are you building trust in your business right now?
